DAY 1: TOUCHDOWN ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD, Lhasa (拉薩), Tibet (西藏)

Leaving all daily troubles behind, we left Hong Kong for Chengdu on a Friday evening in mid September. By the time we arrived at the provincial capital of Sichuan two hours later, it was almost 11pm. We had several hours to kill at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (成都雙流國際機場) before our connecting flight to Lhasa at 6am the next morning. At Terminal 1 of Chengdu , we sat down at a quiet corner in the departure hall until 3am. Then we exited the terminal, and walked over to Terminal 2 for our Lhasa flight. We were sleepy as expected, and could only managed to get a bit more rest on the 2-hour flight. After an hour into the flight, the sun was already up above the clouds. As we approached Tibet, we could occasionally see beautiful snow-capped peaks sticking out of the clouds. During the descend, after our plane passed through the thick layer of clouds, we were excited to find the glorious terrains of the Tibetan Plateau below. The Yarlung Zangbo River (雅魯藏布江) and Lhasa River (拉薩河) near Lhasa Gonggar Airport (拉薩貢嘎機場) glowed under the morning sun. Our plane made a few turns before touching down onto the runway strip surrounded by patches of yellow trees. We didn’t prearrange any pick up from the airport. There were plenty of airport buses outside the airport and only costed us 25 RMB each (compared to 300 RMB for taxi and 500 RMB for private pickup). The ride to Central Lhasa took roughly an hour.

It was almost midnight when we arrived at Chengdu.

At 3am, we walked over to Terminal 2 for our Lhasa flight.

Occasional snow-capped peaks appeared above the clouds.

Despite exhaustion from the sleepless night, the excitement of seeing the mountainous landscape below kept our eyes opened until landing.

Descending below the layer of clouds was like entering a different world.

Under the clouds, the rugged landscape and the river valley received the first morning light of the day.

The flow of Yarlung Zangbo River (雅魯藏布江) offers a touch of colour to the otherwise dark brown terrain near Lhasa.

Under the light of morning sun, Yarlung Zangbo River (雅魯藏布江) glowed in the dark and rugged terrains.

The flood plains of Yarlung Zangbo River (雅魯藏布江) near the airport were dotted with yellow trees.

Surrounded by rugged mountains, Lhasa Gonggar Airport (拉薩貢嘎機場) is a simple airport that connects Lhasa to several Chinese cities including Chengdu and Beijing.

The bus ride out to Central Lhasa took about an hour. The journey passed by river valleys and through mountain tunnels until reaching the suburb of Lhasa.

The bus passed by the majestic Potala as it approached the station nearby.

At the bus station at the shadow of the Potala, our exploration of Lhasa officially began.